


five

by WattStalf



Category: Watchmen - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, monthly challenge, theme: the first five times they met
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 01:32:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7146725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Silk Spectre and the Silhouette, and the first five times they met.</p>
            </blockquote>





	five

**Author's Note:**

> For femslash big bang's June challenge. I took some liberties with the definition of "met", but I had some fun with this one.

The first time they met, Ursula stole the show, and that was something that Sally couldn't forgive. Really, it was like hate at first sight, and she was sure that the feeling was mutual. It would certainly color the rest of their interactions, though neither knew at the time just how much they would be seeing of each other- and neither of them really wanted to see the other again.

Sally had made her name through a lot of publicity stunts, but she was tired of playing the part without getting any action. She'd been training for this, because she knew that no one would buy the super hero thing forever if she didn't take it a bit more seriously and bag a real criminal every now and then. It hadn't taken much time of patrolling the city to find some suspicious activity, something that she was sure had to be connected to gang activity, though she was no expert.

She was just about to spring her attack on the two men after carefully planning it out in her head. If she carried everything out exactly to plan, she would be able to disarm them without much trouble, and if things went south, well, she knew her reputation and she knew how to use what she had as a distraction. She was just stepping out to make her move when the other woman appeared out of nowhere, barely visible in the darkness, and had them both unconscious in seconds.

Sally couldn't help it; she shouted, “What the hell?! I was supposed to...”

“What?” asked the woman, raising a brow. “I've been tracking these men all night. They're connected to a case I'm following.”

“But...but I've been...I was going to...oh! You've ruined _everything_ ,” she said with a huff, wondering if she had time to start all over.

“Aren't these men a little too real for you?” A smirk formed on the woman's face. “I thought the Silk Spectre only pulled publicity stunts. Am I wrong?”

Glaring at her, Sally snapped, “You don't know what you're talking about! I would have brought the two of these men just fine on my own if  _you_ hadn't shown up and gotten in my way.”

“Do you even know who these men are?” When Sally didn't answer, she shook her head. “Figures as much. You should leave the real crime fighting to people who are actually serious about this.”

Huffing once more, Sally stormed off, hoping that she never had the misfortune of running into this woman again.

~X~

But there was a second time that they met. Sally had teamed up with Captain Metropolis (with the help of Larry, of course) to try to form a group. The hero thing was catching on, just as they had predicted, and this seemed like the perfect publicity stunt. She just hadn't counted on that woman- who she had learned called herself the Silhouette- to show up. It didn't seem her style, for all that she had looked down on Sally.

But there she was, with the same look of disdain that she had worn that first night, and Sally couldn't help but groan a bit. Nelson looked over at her questioningly, but she flashed a bright smile, welcoming the woman in such a sickly sweet tone that anyone would have known she was lying when she said they were pleased to have her as a part of the Minutemen. The Silhouette responded just as sarcastically, setting the tone for their future interactions as teammates.

And though that was what they were, Sally did whatever she could to avoid the other woman. Nelson had picked up on the tension immediately, being fairly good at reading people, and made sure they weren't stuck together for much, and were never made to be alone together. Sally was, more often than not, stuck partnering up with the Comedian or Nite Owl, who both had such obvious crushes on her that it was almost cute, while Ursula tended to get paid off with pretty much anyone except Hooded Justice. And Sally, of course.

~X~

The third time they met, though they had seen each other plenty in passing before, was on the streets. Sally had never seen Ursula out of costume before, but she wasn't hard to recognize, given her very distinctive face and her lack of mask. She had never seen Ursula outside of work, period, before now, so when she caught sight of someone who couldn't be anyone else, she began following her without knowing when she decided she would do that.

Sally kept far enough back to keep from being spotted, keeping a close eye on her teammate. She didn't know _why_ she was following her, and if it was just because she was curious, she didn't know why she cared. But she kept up her pursuit for a long, long time, until Ursula began walking with another woman, and Sally followed the both of them until they disappeared into an apartment building. She hesitated before she went inside after them.

They were distracted by their conversation, and didn't seem to notice her enter before going into a stairwell. Sally give it a few seconds before she followed, taking off her high heels and feeling ridiculous as she crept up the stairs, praying that Ursula would not look down. She was able to figure out what floor they stopped at, and when she reached it herself, she saw the other woman closing a door behind them.

Sally wasn't sure what to do after that, so she stood there like an idiot, wondering just how the hell she had found herself in this situation to begin with. She knew that she should leave, that there was no need for her to stand around, but she couldn't bring herself to yet. There was still that damn curiosity that had lead her to following them, and she wanted to know something, even if she wasn't quite sure what that something was.

It was a long, long time before she got up the nerve to go knock on their door, and as soon as she did, she realized just how strange that would look. She had no reason for being there! This couldn't be explained away at all and she ran down the hallway, ducking around a corner just in time for the door to open. She managed to stay out of sight while still peeking around the corner to see the other woman looking around in confusion.

Sally took in her appearance, wondering why she looked so disheveled. She looked hastily dressed and her makeup seemed a bit smudged, though it was hard to tell from this angle. It wasn't until Ursula came up behind her, asking if anyone was there, that Sally got an idea of what was going on, but she was sure that she had to be mistaken. It was true that Ursula looked just as disheveled and that the two stood a little too close, looked a little too comfortable with one another, but there was no way that the obvious was true.

And then Ursula to the corner, and Sally did not duck back quick enough. She saw the recognition on her teammate's face and she knew that she had been caught. She ran for the stairs.

~X~

She supposed that the fourth time they met was inevitable; Ursula would have to confront her eventually. But Sally was dreading that confrontation, because she knew that she had no way to explain herself, and she knew that there was no way this wouldn't make her look bad. She did whatever she could to avoid Ursula, hanging back after team meetings, talking to whoever she could until Ursula was gone, and sometimes she would wait even after everyone had left, just to make sure.

On one of these days, when she was sure that everyone was gone, she finally allowed herself to leave the meeting room, heading for the door, and that was where Ursula cornered her. Sally gasped when she saw the other woman, startled, and mumbled something about needing to be on her way.

Ursula, of course, would not allow her to pass. “If you were in a hurry, you wouldn't have stayed behind for so long,” she said. “And we've needed to have a conversation for a few days now, haven't we?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” She would have to get better at lying if she had any hope of going into acting.

“I saw you, and I know you know I saw you. Tell me what you were doing there.”

“I wasn't...I was visiting someone, it was a coincidence.”

“I know it was you who knocked. Were you following me?” When Sally didn't answer, she asked, “Why?”  
“I...recognized you on the street. I was just curious.” It wasn't a lie, at least.

“You went awfully far just for curiosity.” Her eyes narrowed. “I suppose you already had your suspicions of me. Have they been confirmed?”

“I don't...I didn't know...what suspicions?”

“You saw me with my lover, did you not?”

Sally's eyes widened; now that Ursula had admitted it out loud, that meant that it had to be true, that there was no longer any denying what she had seen. And she didn't know why she felt the way she did about it, why she felt so damn curious and less disgusted, and why this woman that she absolutely despised was stirring up such feelings within her in the first place. She wasn't sure what to say now, and finally, she muttered, “I didn't know that she was...”

“Are you going to expose me now?” Ursula actually seemed a little bit worried. This woman, who always tried to act as though she had something on Sally, as if she was somehow better than her, was now so vulnerable, and Sally had a power over her like she'd never had before. If she wanted to, she could make Ursula do whatever she wanted with this information, but for whatever reason, that did not make her feel as good as she would have expected. Instead, she only felt nervous, out of place and a little ridiculous, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

“How do you...why do you...” She took a deep breath. “How did you know what it meant to feel that way?”

Any trace of vulnerability in Ursula's face vanished then, and she began to close the distance between her and Sally. “Why? Are you having curiosities?” Before Sally could answer, Ursula kissed her.

~X~

There was not a fifth time that they met alone. The fourth time was nothing but a mistake, something that Sally would never allow herself to repeat and something that she would _never_ allow to be exposed. If Ursula thought she had something to worry about, it was nothing compared to what Sally had to lose, she was sure. So they avoided one another, as much as they could.

Until there came a time when Ursula _was_ exposed, and Sally waited for her to say something damning, something that would drag Sally down along with her, but she did not, and the last time they saw each other was when a meeting was held to discuss her status as a member of the Minutemen. It ended in a vote, where the majority ruled that she should not be allowed to remain a part of the group. For the good of their image, for the good of their moral standing.

Sally felt that she had no choice but to agree with the majority, and the last time she saw Ursula, the other woman gave her a look of disappointment, managed to make Sally feel somehow inferior, one last time before she walked out the door.

 


End file.
